Tuesday, November 29, 2016

It's a short report because it was a LONG briefing. More details to come, but we wanted to share with everyone the images that were made public. In the meantime, you can read Tim Schooley's article in the Pittsburgh Business Times here.

View of proposed Whole Foods from Penn Avenue at new South Saint Clair Street

Monday, November 28, 2016

There will be a Briefing at the Planning Commission tomorrow, Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 1 pm at 200 Ross Street, First Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 on the proposed redevelopment of Penn Plaza and Enright Park to become a mixed-use development by LG Realty.

A briefing is a meeting that is not on the official record of Planning Commission. It is used to inform and update the Commission members about projects that will be presented to them for hearing and action in 2 weeks. There is not public testimony at these hearings, but the public may attend to hear about the projects. Planning Commission members may ask questions at briefings.

At the briefing tomorrow, the developer's team will be presenting how they propose to transform Penn Plaza and the adjacent park into a new mixed use development, including a new 50,000 square foot Whole Foods, additional retail and restaurants, office, parking garages, and up to 300 units of "market-rate" residential apartments. They will also include a presentation of how they propose to reconfigure the publicly owned park to support their development.

A working group of community members, including residents, and design and planning professionals in the neighborhood, has been meeting the past 6 weeks with the developer to review their plans and proposal. We have also come up with an alternate proposal, which we believe will support a neighborhood vision that will benefit the entire East Liberty community, including a recommendation for how to develop affordable housing on the site. The developer has not yet responded to that proposal.

A few key points that you need to know:

The developer had not backed off their proposal to destroy upwards of 15 of the mature established trees in the park. The working group has fought long and hard to preserve these trees, but in our counter-proposal to LG Realty, we are prepared to concede the loss of the trees in lieu of getting an appropriately scaled park.

The developer proposes to meet the 2.2 acre park requirement by closing most of Eva Street and dedicating it to the park. The working group has stated that this is unacceptable, and has countered that they must adjust their new access street location to make up for the reduced park size.

The developer has not yet held a community meeting to present their
proposals to the neighborhood at large, which is part of the requirement
of the PLDP process. While a small group has been meeting with them intermittently, they have not shared their plans with the larger community. The working group is sharing what information we are able. If you have questions, please reach out directly to enright.park@gmail.com.

We will need you to come out and add your voice to the conversation at Planning Commission in 2 weeks. We are hopeful that there will be positive motion and that the developer will accept our proposal for how to move forward. And if that happens, we need community support for the vision for a public park and affordable housing in the heart of our neighborhood. And if they do not accept the proposal, we will need your support to help lobby the City why approval should be conditioned upon acceptance of the community proposal.

About Enright Park

Enright Park Neighborhood Association is comprised of homeowners, renters, public housing residents, and landlords who live in close proximity to Enright Parklet in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood.

In recent years, we have seen a dramatic transformation of our community, which has resulted in the on-going displacement of our friends and neighbors. This displacement has disproportionately impacted people of color, seniors living on fixed incomes, low-income working families, and the many ways in which these groups intersect.

The Enright Park Neighborhood Association was established to advance the joint causes of affordable housing, public open space, and an inclusive approach to planning and development that will build and enhance a livable East Liberty for everyone in our community. We intend to win a better East Liberty for everyone, and to help set a new standard self-determination for our communities.

Please join us, and let us know how we can support and promote your voice too. For membership information, please complete the form here.

For more information, including media, please contact us at enright.park@gmail.com.